Girls Auto Clinic Glove Box Guide

by Patrice Banks

Overview

As featured on Fresh Air with Terry Gross

A do-it-herself guide to auto maintenance, roadside emergencies, and the real scoop on how women can get honest car service at the garage, from engineer turned auto mechanic and award-winning entrepreneur Patrice Banks.

Do you feel lost when explaining your car problems to a mechanic? Do you panic when something goes wrong with your ride? Have you felt like you were being overcharged or pressured into unnecessary add-ons at the auto shop?

Fear no more: The Girls Auto Clinic Glove Box Guide has got your back.

So many women feel powerless, nervous, or embarrassed when taking our cars in for a repair, and yet we outnumber men both as drivers and as customers at auto repair shops The time has come for us to grab the wheel and finally take control of our cars.

Filled with easy-to-follow illustrations and instructions, great tips, and lifesaving rules of thumb, The Girls Auto Clinic Glove Box Guide will help take away the confusion and mystery surrounding cars, teach women what they need to know about how their cars work, and what they need to do to keep them running smoothly.

Patrice Banks was once like most of us: a self-professed “auto airhead” who was clueless about car maintenance, yet convinced that mechanics were taking advantage of her. Now she’s an auto pro devoted to empowering women to learn basic car repairs and knowing what to do in an emergency. So whether you get a flat tire when you’re stranded in the middle of nowhere, your car overheats, or a mysterious dashboard light suddenly starts blinking, help is just a reach-in-the-glove-box away.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501144110
Publisher:	Atria Books
Publication date:	09/19/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	445,647
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Patrice Banks, former engineer and auto airhead, is the founder of Girls Auto Clinic, a workshop that empowers women through their cars. After working for twelve years as an engineer, Banks began leading car care workshops for women. Her inspiring story has been told in publications like O, The Oprah Magazine, Huffington Post, Good Housekeeping, and Elite Daily, among others, and she’s appeared on CBS This Morning, Fox and Friends, and more. Banks is opening a full service auto repair shop staffed by female mechanics in the summer of 2016.

Table of Contents

Pop Quiz: Test Your Auto Care IQ: Can you tell the difference between an auto myth and a car care fact? vii

Introduction: The story of my auto airhead past-and how I became a certified #shecanic 1

Part I Get to Know Your Vehicle

Changing Your Vehicular Relationship Status: A fresh start for you and your car 16

Must-Know Facts About Your Car: The essential 411 for your specific make, model, and year: a handy guide and write-in form 19

Get to Know Your Dash: Decoding your instrument cluster and all those mysterious lights 24

Your Primary Care Technician: The different types of auto shops and how to choose a mechanic that's right for you 34

High Maintenance: Why maintenance isn't optional: a master schedule for car care 53

DIY #1 Under the Hood 63

DIY #2 Check and Add Windshield Washer Fluid 75

Part II Everything You Need to Know About How Cars Work

Anatomy of a Modern Car: A simple overview of the four major systems in a modern car 78

The "Three E's": Engines, Exhaust, Emissions: The engine, exhaust, and emissions systems-and oil and coolant, the engine's lifelines 82

DIY #3 How to Check and Add Oil 109

DIY #4 How to Check and Add Coolant 115

Motion Electric: The Electrical Systems and Computers Inside Your Car: Batteries, alternators, starters, and onboard diagnostics-how they work, and how to keep them working for you; buying and maintaining electric cars and hybrids 119

Transmission: An Orderly Transfer of Power: Rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, and more: understanding and maintaining your transmission system 142

Brakes: The Most Important System in Your Car: The parts of your brake system, the magic of ABS, and diagnosing common brake issues 156

DIY #5 How to Check Brake Fluid and Power Steering Fluid 172

Keep 'Em Rolling: Tires and Wheels: All about psi, wheel alignments, and common wheel and tire problems 174

DIY #6 How to Check Air Pressure and Tire Tread 191

DIY #7 How to Change a Tire 197

Steering: Navigating Your Chariot: Anatomy of the power steering system, common repairs, and signs of a power steering issue 210

Suspension: Giving You That Smooth Ride: A piece of your car that goes bump in the night 217

Heating and Air-Conditioning: Keeping It Cozy: Low maintenance, high cost: a brief look at climate control 221

Gas: The Joys and Pains: Choosing your grade, and good habits at the pump 234

Part III Common Roadside Problems (and a Mini Buyer's Guide)

Buy, Sell, Ditch: How to Avoid a Clunker (or Tell When Your Car Has Become One) and Buy a Car You Can Afford: How to buy a car you can afford to maintain, and where to buy it; buying used without fear; test-driving like a boss; understanding warranties; and when to say good-bye 240

What to Do in an Emergency: Collisions, overheated engines, loss of brakes, flat tires, nonstarters, and must-have emergency tools and supplies 274

DIY #8 How to Jump-Start a Car 283

Graduation Time 287

Acknowledgments 288

DIY Index 289

Editorial Reviews

…Banks gives us the basics here: the parts, how they operate, what you can fix yourself, and perhaps most important, how not to be cheated (by knowing how much various repair jobs should cost). It's simply written, it's not condescending or cutesy, and it removes the mystery from something that many of us find a little scary.

The New York Times Book Review - Judith Newman

07/01/2017
Engineer and founder of the Girls Auto Clinic, Banks seeks to empower women through their cars. In this book, the author guides women (and men) in what they need to know about how their vehicles work (e.g., the function of alternators and timing belts) and what to do to keep them running well (e.g., regularly check the oil and coolant). Banks throws in tips for how to stock the glove compartment and avoid being overcharged at the repair shop, as well as what action to take if the engine overheats. VERDICT This comprehensive DIY guide is indispensable for everyone who owns and maintains an automobile.

Library Journal